Grain separator and conveyer



n wv e .h 4 S t mu 6 h S L- IL A D N Y L n Straw Carrier.

Patented Nov; 18, 1856.

N. FETERS. Photohlllagmphen wumngwn, 0.6,

N. PETERS. Phummho n hur. Washington. D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

J. SYNDALL, OF BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO CYRUS ROBERTS, OF BELLEVILLE, ILLINOIS.

GRAIN SEPARATOR AND CONVEYER.

Specification of Letters Patent No. 16,103, dated November 18, 1856.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J osnrrr SYNDALL, formerly of Lewisburg, in the county of Union and State of Pennsylvania, but now residing at Santa Clara, in the State of California, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grain-Separators for Threshing-Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which make part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 represents an isometrical perspective view of a separator embracing my improvements: a threshing machine is shown by red lines in this figure to illustrate the mode of connecting this separator therewith; and Fig. 2 represents a vertical longitudinal section of the same.

The principal features of my invention consists First. In suspending the conveyer or separator on vertical hinged radius bars in such a manner that it shall vibrate or swing only on one side of a vertical line drawn through the center of motion of these bars, which, starting from the said line first move the conveyer forward nearly horizontal to give the straw, grain and chaff a horizontal impulse, and then, near the forward extremity of the vibration, rapidly give the conveyer an impulse upward from the horizontal to throw the straw and grain upward at the forward termination of the swing of the conveyer, and then, first lowering the conveyer rapidly that it may drop below the grain and straw carried forward, swing back again to the line whence they started and thus avoid the tendency to carry backward as well as forward. This not only facilitates the carrying of the threshed matter through the conveyer, but shakes up the straw thoroughly, thereby promoting the separation of the chaff and grain from it.

Second. In suspending the conveyer by means of radius bars of unequal lengths, for the purpose of causing it to rock longitudinally as it swings and to lift and lower the rear or receiving end of the conveyer somewhat farther and faster than the front or discharging end is lifted and lowered. By this arrangement, the rear end of the conveyer where the whole of the straw chafi and grain is mixed in one mass, conveys faster than the front end where the straw alone is to, be conveyed, thus proportioning the conveying power of the different parts of the separator to the varying quantity of matter to be conveyed, and thereby diminishing the danger of clogging the machine while performing its maximum of duty.

Third. In the arrangement of the head of the vibrating shaking fingers in a recess in the bottom of the conveyer, in such a manner that while the fingers duly perform their functions, the head will not obstruct the passage of the grain or straw, as it would but for this arrangement. Fourth. In varying the upward throw of the vibrating shaking fingers while the limit of their descent may be kept at a fixed point, by means of an adjustable bar or guide in connection with the arm or arms that vibrate the fingers. And fifth in facilitating the passage of the chaff and grain through the openings in the bottom of the conveyer, by forming at the front side of the top of each a channel, which, inclining backward, will catch much of the grain that has passed the openings and conduct it back to them, when it will drop through. The front sides of the openings thus connected with troughs or channels will be much less liable to catch the straw and thereby obstruct its passage than the openings alone. These channels and openings combined diminish the solid surface of the bottom and increase correspondingly the effective area of the openings for the purpose of separating the grain, but without enlarging them to such an extent as to impair their efliciency in screening out with the straw, stones, roots and other foreign substances which would be likely to obstruct the winnowing apparatus.

In the accompanying drawings the separator or conveyer A is represented as suspended in the proper position, by two pairs of radius bars or pendulum rods F to four standards B rising from a platform, but it is obvious that it might be suspended upon any suitable frame or its front end might be suspended from the cross beams of the building in which the machine is used and its rear end hung to the frame of the thresher, so that the separator may receive and carry off the straw chaff and grain and deliver them into proper receptacles. The motion of the separator is derived through a connecting-rod C from a crank D on a shaft D in the main frame, which shaft (1)) may derive its motion by a band or gearing from the shaft of the threshing cylinder. The sides of the separator must be high enough to prevent the threshed matter from falling over them, as it is being conveyed through the separator.

The bottom of the conveyer is about equally divided into two sections E E, of which the rear or receiving section is considerably higher than the front section, and inclines forward and downward at an angle about ten degrees greater than the front or discharging section E, by which arrangement the rear or receiving end of the conveyer where the straw chaif and grain are together is made to convey more rapidly than the front or discharging end where the straw alone is to be conveyed, thus facilitating the separation in front by affording more time for the chaff and grain to drop through the bottom of the conveyer and diminishing the tendency to clog in the rear by the proportion thus maintained between the quantity of matter and the speed at which it is conveyed. The bottom of both of these sections E E, is pierced with a suitable number of holes a, each large enough for several kernels of grain to drop through at once, and, in order to facilitate the passage of the chaff and grain through these openings (a), a channel Z) is formed at the front side of the top of each, which channel inclines backward so that it will catch the grain which has passed the opening, and conduct it back with the return swing of the conveyer. The solid surface of the bottom is also diminished by the formation of these channels which increase correspondingly the area of the openings, thus rendering them more efiective in separating the chaff and grain from the straw and in conducting the chaff and grain through the bottom of the conveyer, while they are less liable to catch the ends of the straw and obstruct its passage through the conveyer so as to clog the machine, without enlarging them to such an extent as to impair their efficiency in screening out with the straw, stones roots and other substances which would impede the winnowing.

Each of the four radius bars or pendulum rods F is fastened at its upper end with a pin to one of the standards B, and is fastened in like manner at its lower end to the corresponding side of the conveyer. The holes in the rods pass loosely over the pins in order that the rods may turn freely thereon. The conveyer A swings upon these bars or rods F to which it is thus attached and by which the two ends E E of the conveyer are maintained at their proper relative heights. These pins or connections cl on which the radius bars F swing, sustain such a relative position to the crank D and connecting rod C, that when the crank is turned back to the extreme rear of its stroke the rods will then hang vertical and will of course swing forward when the crank is turned forward to give the forward impulse to the conveyer, and as the bars rise from the tangent of the arc in which they swing the conveyer will be raised considerably when approaching the termination of its forward motion, when the crank is turned back the reverse of these movements will take place, bringing the radius bars back to the vertical position whence they started.

The two pairs of radius bars F, while swinging an equal distance, are of unequal lengths, those which sustain the front or discharging end (E) of the conveyer, being much the longest and therefore raising that section less and giving it an impulse more nearly horizontal than is imparted to the rear or receiving end E, by the short radius bars to which it is attached. This inequality imparts to the conveyer a peculiar longitudinal rocking motion simultaneous with its swinging back and forth, the object of which motion is to make the rear or receiving end of the conveyer rise on its forward swing both faster and farther than the front or discharging section.

The difference in the rise of the two ends of the conveyer is shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings by blue and black lines. In consequence of this'arrangement, the rear section of the conveyer in which the straw chafi' and grain are mixed in a promiscuous mass, conveys faster than the front section where most of the grain and chaff have been sepa rated from the straw and dropped through the perforations in the bottom of the conveyer. At the junction of the two sections of the bottom of the conveyer a set of vibrating shaking fingers G is arranged so as to extend forward over a portion of the front section E, while their head H lies in a recess I between the two sections of the bottom. By an arrangement which will presently be described these fingers rise on the forward swing of the conveyer and lift and shake the straw, at the same time facilitating both its progress through the conveyer and the separation of the chaff and grain from it, and then with the back swing of the conveyer, resume their position over the front section E; the motions of the fingers being regulated by and uniform with those of the conveyer, though they only lift and shake the straw on its advance motion.

The head (H) of the fingers (G) has its bearings in the opposite sides of the conveyer and lies in the recess (I) under the projecting end of the rear section (E) of the bottom, being thus disposed that it may offer no obstruction to the passage of the straw and grain. I

One end of the head (H) projects beyond its bearing in the side of the conveyer and to this end an upright arm J is fixed. The upper end of this arm J passes through a slot in the forward end of an adjust-able bar or guide K, extending from one of the standards (13) or from the frame of the thresher, to which it is attached by the same pin (d) which holds one of the short radius bars (F). The arm (J) is held in the slotted end of the bar (K) by a pin passing through a hole in each, in such a position as to vibrate the head of the fingers with the swing of the conveyer, raising the fingers so that they will lift and shake the straw on the forward swing of the conveyer, and lowering them on its return motion.

In order to vary the range of vibration of the fingers (G) as may be required, a series of holes is provided in the upper end of the arm (J) so that by lowering the slotted end of the bar or guide K on the arm, the throw of the fingers will be increased, and by raising this end of the bar on the arm, the throw or range of vibration of the fingers will be diminished, while to preserve the limit of their descent un changed the end of the adjustable bar or guide (K) attached to the standard (B) must be moved correspondingly backward or forward as the opposite end is raised or lowered and the range of vibration of the fingers diminished or increased.

Having thus fully described the particulars of my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. Suspending the conveyer on vertical radius bars or pendulum bars which swing it forward first in a nearly horizontal and next in an upward direction and then swing it back, first moving it suddenly downward and next horizontally or thereabout, until it reaches the place whence it started, substantially as herein set fort-h.

2. Swinging and rocking the conveyer as described on radius bars of unequal lengths which raise its rear end somewhat further and faster than its front end, in the manner and with the results herein set forth.

3. Arranging the head of the vibrating shaking fingers in a recess in the bottom of the conveyer substantially as described. But I make no claim to the arrangement of the vibrating fingers below the conveyer, so that the straw and grain, after leaving the conveyer, will pass on to the fingers.

4. The combination of an adjustable bar or guide with an arm projecting from the head of the vibrating fingers, so that the upward throw of the fingers may be varied while the limit of their descent remains unchanged, as hereinbefore set fort-h.

5. Constructing the screening apertures in the bottom of the conveyer, with channels on the front sides of the tops thereof to facilitate the separation of the grain and chaff from the straw and the passage of the straw through the conveyer, as herein set forth.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

JOS. SYNDALL. [L. s]

In presence of (has. T. HENLY, R. A. JONES. 

